Art of decorating the surfaces of various objects



June 5, 192s. O 1,672,093

H. S. `SDTLER ART OF DEQORATING THE SURFACES OI. VARIOUS OBJECTS Filed Jan. 51, 192B Eng. J. EL?. ff

w l 'FA/ESS ,A'Patented- June 5, l1928.

PATENT OFFICE.

. HELENA S. SADTLER, F ERDENHEIM, PENNSYLVANIA.

.ART OF DECORATING THE SURFACES OF VARIOUS OBJECTS.

Application led January 31, 1.928. Serial No. 250,802. L

' An object of my invention is to provide a means for decorating or ornamenting various kinds of objects in such la manner that the decoration appears to have been made upon the surface of the decorated object by painting, and to obtain this result by imposing or impressing on and into the decoration substantially the same grain, texture or other elevational physical surface characteristics as -those which are peculiar to the material of which the decorated object is made, said surface characteristics being all over and throughout the surface of the decoration.

A further object of my'invention is to provide a decoration on paper which may constitute the dominant decorative feature Aof the .article to which it is applied and which I have consequently termed herein a motif decoration, which may have a regular symmetrical or geometric` outline, e. g., that of an ellipse or circle to produce a medallionlike effect, when applied to the object, or may have an irregular unsymmetrical outline or border, e. g., that of a vflower or other unsymmetrical natural object, or a group of them. v

A further object of my invention is t provide a unit motif decoration in which the carrier or support for the -color media used is substantially invisible, when the decoration is properly ailixed to the object, due to the color material and the thinness of the carrier, and the duplication of the surface texture of the decorated object throughout the area of the exposed surface of the decoration. v

A further object of my invention is to provide a motif decoration, in unit form, for application to lampshades, furniture and other household objects, which can be successfully applied to the object with facility and by any one without expert advice.

A further object of my invention is to provide a unit decorationVV comprising a thin carrier, one surface 0f which is provided with an all-over design, preferably in opaque or translucent colors, or in water colors, so that when the decoration is applied to the object the ornamentation -will appear to be painted directly on the surface of the article.

Another object of my invention is to make a unit decorative design with a paper carrier or supporting sheet which is so thin that there is no appreciable shoulder or ledge at the border of the decoration which is perceptible to the sense of feeling or sight, said carrier being readily absorbent of moisture and consequently of any suitable adhesive applied thereto, and being, when damp, very soft and very impressible, but which may be strong and tough enough to withstand, without tearing, an application of a layer or coating of paste, thin lue or other suitable adhesive applied direct y thereto all over the undecoratedside thereof and to permit of the manpulation incident to the liftmg of the adhesive-covered paper and the transporting and ailixing of it to the surface of the object to be decorated therewith. I have found that a good quality of very thin bond paper or of thin onion-skin paper is well adapted for the purpose.

A further object of my invention is to provide a means for decorating painted, varnished or lacquered surfaces, and to produce the effect of a hand painted decoration on that surface, by using the fresh paint, varnish or lacquer as the adhesive.

Other 'objects will appear below.

In the drawings, the same reference characters are employed throughout to designate the same parts.

Fig. 1 represents one unit type of surface decoration embodying my invention, with a regular outline.

Fig. 1El represents a. similar unit type in which the outline is irregular.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional' v'iew of Fig. 1, the thicknesses being greatly exaggerated and the heavy dark line indicating the ornamental design on one side of the unit.

Fig. 3 shows a non-absorbent table or board, or a sheet of glass with a coating of adhesive applied thereto.

Fig. 4 shows a unit decoration with its undecorated side gently pressed against the layer of adhesive (shown in Fig. 3) to effectively apply a thin coating of adhesive to the undecorated side of the unit.

Fig. `5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an object to be decorated, the upper surface thereof being slightly uneven to indicate a characteristic surface structure.

Fig. 6 is a similar cross-sectional View and F ig. 7 is a plan view showing the decoration lightly laid upon" the irregular or characteristic surface of the object or article being decorated, and before the application 'showing the decoration firmly attached to the surface of the object which is decorated thereby.

Fig. 10 shows a plan view of what is illustrated in diagrammatic cross-section in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 shows in cross-section and on a greatly exaggerated scale, in thickness, a

coating of varnish or other surface protecv tive material, covering the decoration and the unexposed surface of the object.

In Fig. 3a a thin coating of adhesive is shown as spread on the surface of the object to be decorated instead of the non-absorbent surface shown in Fig. 3. In this case the back of the motif or decoration may be laid directly on the object and then pressed yielding against it, following the steps shown in Figs. 6 to 11 inclusive.

In Fig. 4 the coating of adhesive is shown as applied to the undecorated surface of the unit or motif which is thereafter lifted, turned and laid on the object, as shown in Fig. 6. The succeeding steps are shown in Figs. 8 to 11.

In carrying out my invention, I take a sheet or piece of very thin bond paper, or of onion-skin paper, one side or surface of which is preferably completely covered with the desired decorative design which may be formed thereon in any suitable way, preferably in colors, and printed, engraved or painted on the paper. The colored decoration 1 is indicated by the heavy thick line on one surface of the paper carrier 2 and together they. form the motif decoration 3. The paper carrier-2 may be cut to the shape of the decoration either before or after the ornamented design 1 is placed thereon. If

the decoration be of irregular shape in outline, such as is illustrated in' Fig. 1El the decoration 1 may be first applied to a larger sheet of paper and then the paper may be cut to follow the contour or irregular shape of the decoration 1 thereon, so that when the motif decoration or similar unit 3' is finished, the paper carrier 2 may .not be seen from the decorated side of the paper. This is true of either modification.

To attach the unit decoration or motif to the surface of an object to be decorated a thin layer 5 of aste, or other moist adhesive is preferab y spread over a flat nonabsorbent surface, such as a table or sheet of glass 4, and the undecorated side of the unit is laid thereon and then gently pressed down into it, thus applying a thin coat of adhesive thereto. 'lhe application of the wet paste or fluid glue to the decorative motif or unit, causes the thin paper to become very limp, soft, plastic and moldable or impressionable. The softened motif should then be quickly and carefully lifted from the table 4 and affixed to the object 6 While the paper is in that damp condition.

In Figs. 6 and 7 the pasted decoratlon 3 is shown as lightly lying on the rough or other characteristic surface 6 of the object to be decorated thereby. As soon as the decoration is thus properly placed on the object, it is then pressed firmly onto and against the surface 6, preferably by hand with a soft or resilient absorbent pad 7 ap` plied to the decorated side of the motif. In Fig. 8,l I have indicated the pad 7 as having been so pressed against vthe motif ydecoration 3 as to force every portion of the pasted surface of the motif decoration into intimate surface 6 of the object 6 being decorated.

The pressure may be applied manually by pressing down on the yielding, preferably absorbent, pad 7 thereby expressing any excess, if any, of adhesive out from between the back or the underside of the Adecoration 3 and the surface to which the same is applied. A diagrammatic sectional view showing the way in which the paper decoration or motif 3 will be shaped and molded against. the irregular surface 6 of the object and how the characteristic appearance of the surface 6 is Iforced through the paper and appears on the surface of the decoration as the irregular surface 6', is clearly indicated in Fig. 9 and the same is shown 1n plan view in Fig. 10. After the' decoration has dried, it will appear to be painted by hand in water color or oil, dependent upon the character of the decoration, directly upon the object, for the characteristic texture of the surface to which the decoration is applied will appear throughout the entire area of the exposed surface of the decoration (see Fig. 10) as if a thin layer of pigments or colors had been placed over the surface and had followed and conformed to the vertical irregularities in the surface of the object. The surface of the decoration will contain a duplication of the elevational characteristics of the object, such as the grain of wood, if the object be wood, or the texture of cloth, if the object be cloth, or the similar irregularities in the surface texture of any object so decorated. In the finished work the paper carrier will be practically invisible. It

cannot be seen through the substantially allthe general plane of the surface upon which the decoration is placed and the characteristic surface texture `of the thin paper has been changed to that of the object to which it has been secured. This is particularly true if a coating of varnish or shellac or lacquer 8 or other' transparent protective material be applied to the entire surface and decoration, or to the decoration alone, after the water has been evaporated out of the decoration, or has been absorbed into the material cf the object which is decorated therewith. l

In the alternative process shown in Flg. 3a, the layer 5, which may be paste, varnish, lacquer or paint, is rst placed upon the surface 6 of the object 6 to be decorated. The paper decorations 3 such as has been above described, is carefully laid Hat onto the said layer 5 with the undecorated or back side of the motif on' the said layer and carefully pressed into complete contact therewith. The same desirable results will be attained in this way as those first above described, and with this possible advantage, namely, that a thinner more water-absorbent and tender sheet 2`of paper may be used upon which to support the colored design or picture l, for it'will not be necessary in this case to lift up the softened paper motif 3 after it has once come into contact with the wet adhesive, if glue, or the wet paint, varnish or shellac, if used, by means of which the decoration is firmly affixed or attached to the object 6 to be decorated.

Or by placing the unit decoration with the decorated side l thereof against the smooth surface of a board or sheet of glass 4, I may apply a layer of adhesive dlrectly to the back thereof with a brush or other spreader. The so dampened softened motif 3 may then be carefully lifted and placedon the surface 6 to be decorated '(as, shown in Fig. 6) and then the procedure indicated in Figs. 8, 9 and 11 may be followed with like results.

The invention is not to be construed as strictly limited to the production in it of granular, rough, matte or similar surface characteristics of the body or object decorated therewith, for if the surface of the object to be decorated be smooth and plane or curved or polished, and the motif is attached or secured thereto as above 'described under a gentle yielding pressure, the smooth character and curvature of the surface of the object (such as the varnished polished back of a chair or the top of a lacquered table) will be present in the surface of the motif. When the decoration is secured to a plane polished surface, such as is characteristic of a pane or sheet of glass, the smooth surface characteristic of the glass will be present in the surface of the motif', the thickness of the paper carrier will be practically.imperceptible and the decdration of paper with a decorative design in color,4

which substantially covers the entire area of one side of said carrier, forms a unit decoration, and renders the paper carrier substantially'invisible from the decorated side of the unit, applying adhesive to the undecorated side of said unit thereby rendering the carrier soft, limp, impressionable andI moldable, and immediately placing said unit in the desired position on the surface of the object to be decorated therewith, and then applying a yielding pressure to said unit to press the undecorated surface' of the unit into intimate Contact with every portion of the surface of said object thereunder, whereby substantially all the elevational characteristics of the surface lof the object under said unit will appear on and throughout the exposed surface of the decorative design and will im art to said decoration the eHect of a painting directly on the object and the paper carrier will be substantially invisible.

2. The method of decorating an object which consists in providing one surface of a carrier comprising an exceedingly thin piece of paper provided with a decorative design in color substantially covering the entire area of one side of said carrier, forminga unit decoration and making the carrier substantially invisible from the decorated side of the unit, applying adhesive to the undecorated side of said unit to thereby soften the carrier and to make it. limp, impressionable and moldable and immediately placing said unit in the desired osition on the surface of the object to be ecorated therewith,

with the undecorated side of, said unit' against said object, then applying a yielding pressure to said unit to press thel undecorated-surface of the same into intimate contact with every portion ofthe surface of said object thereunder, whereb any elevational characteristics of themsur ace of the object will appear on the exposedl surface of the, decorative unit and will produce on the surface of said decoration the identical surface texture of the object and effect of a painting on said object, the paper carrier being substantially invisible, and then applying a protective transparent coating to said decoration.

3. A colored unit decoration comprising a sheet of very thin water absorbent paper which, when wet, is exceedingly limp and soft, having on one side thereof an ornamental design in colors completely coveringthe los entire area of said side of said paper and yconcealing the paper beneath it, the outthe surface of an object to be ornamented,.

the design of said unit appears to be formed directly on v4,the surface of said object, the paper being so thin that there is no shoulder or ledge at the edge of said decoration perceptible to the eye or to the sense of feeding and the paper, when Wet, being so soft and moldable that the exposed surface of the design will take on and have imprinted therein the same surface texture as that which said object possesses When said unit is pressed against the surface to be ornamented thereby.

4. A colored unit decoration comprising a sheet of very thin Water absorbent paper which, when Wet, is exceedingly limp and soft, having on one side thereof an ornamental design in colors completely covering the entire area of said side of said paper and concealing the paper beneath it, the outline of said unit being coincident with the edge of said design whereby when the undecorated side of vsaid unit is provided With a coating of adhesive and pressed against the surface of an object to be ornamented, said paper is so thin that there is no appreciable shoulder or ledge at the edge of said decoration perceptible to the sense of feeling or sight whereby said unit appears to be painted directly on said surface of said object.

5. The method of decorating an object which consists in providing one surface of a carrier comprising an exceedingly thin piece of paper with a decorative design in color, which substantially covers the entire area of one side of said carrier, forms a unit decoration, and renders the paper carrier substantially invisible from the decorated side of the unit, applying adhesive to the undecorated side of said unit thereby rendering the carrier soft, limp, impressionable and moldable, and immediately placing said unit in the desired position on the surface of the object to be decorated therewith, and then applying a`yielding pressure to said unit to press the undecorated surface of the unit into intimate contact with every portion of the surface of said object thereunder, whereby substantially all the elevational characteristics of the surface of the object under said unit will appear on and throu out the exposed surface of the decorative (design and Will impart to said decoration the effect of a painting directly on the object and the paper carrier Will be substantially invisible, and then applying a protective transparent coating to said decoration.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set' my hand this 30th day of January, 1928.

HELENA S. SADTLER. 

